Curry powder with banned dye recalled in New Taipei

Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Curry powder containing the banned dye Sudan III has been recalled from three food manufacturers, the New Taipei Department of Health said Friday.

In a statement issued Friday, the department said it visited three food companies in the city on Feb. 28 for inspection after being notified by its Taipei counterpart that curry powder produced by Chi-Seng Co., Ltd., which contained Sudan III, was sold to the companies.

Two of the companies had a total supply of 657.6 kilograms, of which 421.2 kg have been recalled and they have asked their downstream wholesalers to return and stop selling the curry powder products, the department said.

As for the other company, it had returned all curry powder to Chi-Seng, the department added.

Yang Shu-chin (楊舒秦), head of the Food and Drug Division of the department, told CNA that the inspections came after the Taichung City government said on Feb. 24 that pork jerky made by the Taichung-based Jin An Ji food manufacturer was found to contain Sudan III.

The Sudan III-tainted chili powder used in the pork jerky production was later found to be supplied by New Taipei-based Bao Hsin Enterprises Co., which imported the chili powder from Sanhe Drug Co. in China's Henan Province, Yang said.

She added that in addition to Chi-Seng, the tainted chili powder has been supplied by Bao Hsin to 12 downstream businesses across nine cities and counties in Taiwan, including three in New Taipei.

The three businesses are Evergoing Enterprise Ltd., Linco Enterprise Co., Ltd., and Goang Jen Enterprise Co., Ltd., the department said.

According to the department, Evergoing had returned 380 kg of the 500-kg supply back to Bao Hsin and had notified a Taichung-based company, to whom it sold the remaining 120 kg as loose chili powder, to stop selling the product. It has also recalled the product.

Linco had returned 485 kg of its 500-kg supply to Bao Hsin and will destroy 791 packs of spicy powder products that were yet to be sold, which were made from the remaining 15 kg, the department added.

As for Goang Jen, it had returned all 375 kg of supply to Bao Hsin, the department said.